The Founders of Ezzy Lynn

Meet the founders of Ezzy Lynn: Sonja Fernandes, Bianca Lopes and Samantha Laliberte. These three Western alumni have created an incredible fashion enterprise that has been running for over two years! Ezzy Lynn is a clothing and accessory company that donates a portion of their funds to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) with all their apparel inspired by and named after animals. Their company has the perfect combination of fashion and sustainability. Read their interview below as they discuss their journey creating Ezzy Lynn as well as the advice they’d give to aspiring entrepreneurs!

What inspired you to create Ezzy Lynn? How did the three of you decide on becoming business partners?

We all met as students at Western University's on campus entrepreneurship centre, Propel. Each of us were exploring entrepreneurship with separate ventures but were disappointed by how few women were starting businesses. We met and committed to starting something together one day as a way to improve that ratio. A year later Ezzy Lynn was born.

WWF is the world leader in wildlife conservation. We knew we wanted to partner with them from day one. Their logo the most recognized brand within the nonprofit sector and they have a presence on every continent in the world. Ezzy Lynn also aims to share our mission on a global scale.

What has been some of the challenging parts on creating Ezzy Lynn? How did you overcome it?

1. Turning passion into a business product. We all loved fashion, but we all went to school for completely different things. One big challenge was just that alone. We taught ourselves to make scrunchies from used sewing machines on YouTube.

2. Taking the leap of faith. When you tell others after you’ve graduated that you’re going to start a scrunchie business with your friends, they’d say: “Are you crazy?” or “That’s cute.” It took guts and a tremendous amount of respect towards each other in order to not only make this successful but to keep and grow our friendship along the way!

3. Proving you can create a profitable business without harming others around you or at the cost of the environment. This is a consistent challenge; we’ve just learned how to overcome different parts of it. For example, manufacturing apparel is notoriously known for not the most ethical and clean process. We have found very creative ways to recycle and not compromise our promise to be social consciously from inception to delivery!

We hope to spread more inspiration to women considering entrepreneurship or a career in fashion. We love opportunities to share our story at events or through interviews such as this. It’s so rewarding to hear we helped another young woman take a leap either entrepreneurially or intrapreneurially.

What were your thoughts when you were finishing your final year at Western?

SL: I was scared, clueless, and evaluated every possibility. Two months prior to convocation, I decided to take the risk and pursue entrepreneurship. I went to Propel at Western University with my business idea and that's where and when I met my two business partners. Fast forward 4 years, and we've grown Ezzy Lynn into what it is today!

What advice would you give to women who would like to succeed in business?

START! It won’t be perfect; it will pivot a million times. It will push you, it will make you cry, but it will be amazing!

Are there any mottos or quotes that changed the way you live your life or inspired you?

Hey, I'm Elisa: 4th year Western Mustang and ardent movie nerd. I love The Legend of Zelda, Star Wars and Wes Anderson. I'm currently on a Doctor Who binge, been told that I'm quite good at Super Smash Bros, and have a deep connection with Tina Belcher from Bob's Burgers.